ABSTRACT

Equitable and sustained economic growth in Madagascar seems to mainly depend on the development of the agricultural sector which represents 29.5 per cent of GDP (1996), employs 85 per cent of the population, and accounts for 47 per cent of exports (Ramarokoto, 1997). Since the beginning of the 1980s, reforms were initiated to liberalize internal and external trade and to adjust prices to the market (Razafimandimby, 1997). These reforms directly affect rural households as agriculture represents their main activity.